The Wife Is a Superstar 2

Chapter 290 - The Power Of Mothers

The rare cheerful parts of the film was when the young Guan Jintao started winning some minor competitions in his teenage years. His proud mother was happy, but deep inside she was hurting because her beloved husband couldn't celebrate their son's achievements together with them.

She continued to work hard to support her son's increasing expenses. Guan Jintao wanted to help earn some money, suggesting that he work part-time but she rejected his idea. She wanted him to focus on his training and leave all the money worries to her.

This was also around the time Guan Jintao finally noticed that his mother was suffering from depression, though she tried hard to keep it to herself. However, she just dismissed his concerns, telling him not to worry about her.

"It's a mother's job to worry about her child, not the other way around," she told him.

After winning a major swimming competition, a coach noticed Guan Jintao's talent. Many already knew about this part of the story from Guan Jintao's own biopics. The coach and athlete would create history together.

The coach took the teenager under his tutelage, greatly easing off most of the financial burdens from Guan Jintao's mother.

Guan Jintao started to dominate swimming competitions nationally and internationally. He gradually became a well-known figure in both parasports and unified sports.

Knowing that his mother was cheering for him among the stands, he thought that perhaps she was already recovering from her depression. He was wrong.

Her depression continued to fester within her, killing her slowly day by day.

Finally, Guan Jintao's biggest dream came true. He participated in the Paralympics held in another country and took home multiple gold medals. When he returned to the country, he received a hero's welcome and was even awarded recognition by the country's president for his achievements.

He promised his mother that he would make life easier for her from now on. Although he couldn't see her smiling because of his blindness, he still felt it. It warmed his heart and made him hopeful that his mother was finally alright.

Throughout his rise as a Paralympian star in the country in the next few years, his mother appeared to become more serene. He took this as good sign and continued to work hard in his sports career. He eventually met and fell in love with a woman. They married and lived together with his mother.

Everything was perfect. Despite his disability, he felt like the happiest man in the world.

Or so he thought.

One day, they found his mother dead on her bed clutching a framed picture of her beloved husband. People who saw her observed that she looked like she was just sleeping peacefully. There was even a soft smile on her face.

An empty packet with traces of an unidentified powder was found on her bedside table beside a sealed enveloped labelled "To My Son". It contained her last words before she ended her own life.

It took a few months after his mother's funeral before Guan Jintao gathered enough courage to open her suicide note. His wife read it for him.

The suicide note was several pages long. It was through the letter that Guan Jintao finally learned the whole story of his mother's struggles and sufferings throughout her whole life, especially after his father died before his birth.

His mother fought her inner demons by herself. She must've felt so alone, yet she tried to be strong for his sake.

At the end of the letter, she wrote:

"I'm tired. I've been tired for a long time, but I couldn't leave you just yet. Now that you have a loving family of your own and a successful career, I've fulfilled my promise to your father. I can finally rest in peace after so many years of yearning for my other half. Never forget that I love you so much and that I'll always be proud of you. Now I'm off to meet up with my lover, my husband, your father. I'm happy so please be happy for me too. Farewell, my beloved son. Your father and I will continue to watch over you and your family."